Taylor wants fistful of dollars

Joe Calzaghe will need to more than double his offer to 10 million US dollars if he wants Jermain Taylor to be his next opponent.

Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren last week upped his bid from 3million to 4million dollars (£2million) to entice the undisputed middleweight champion to step up a division and fight for the Welshman's WBO super-middleweight crown.

"If Joe and Frank want me that much, make me an offer for $10m and I will show up and bring him a gift to his front door," Taylor told BBC Sport.

Calzaghe is looking for an opponent for the 21st defence of his world title, with 28-year-old American Taylor top of his list.

The 35-year-old is even prepared to forgo his preferred July television date for a September showdown against Taylor, who defends his WBC and WBO titles against Cory Spinks on May 19.

The Little Rock-born fighter, who holds a record of 26-0-1 (17 KOs), would have no problem fighting in the UK if the money was right.

"No atmosphere is intimidating because, once you start fighting, your focus is on the man in front of you," Taylor added.

Calzaghe is boxing's longest-reigning current champion, having held his WBO crown for almost 10 years.

He made the 20th defence of his title against Peter Manfredo Jr on April 7 in front of 35,000 fans at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. He suffered a broken hand in during the third-round victory but had still hoped to fight again on July 21.

However, number one choice Taylor, Bernard Hopkins and WBC and WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler are all unavailable on that date.